Though temperatures will warm across the United States in the next few days, an artic blast of cold winter air affected a good portion of the country over the last week. Freezing cold made it all the way to Florida and is blamed for more than 20 deaths nationwide. -- Thea Breite/Lloyd Young ( 29 photos total )

Ice crystals gather atop a frozen pond on Jan. 7 in Lawrenceburg, Ky. Temperatures in the single digits coupled with below-zero wind chills have prompted the closure of local governments, schools, and businesses throughout the South. (Luke Sharrett/Getty Images) #

A person struggles to cross a street in blowing and falling snow as the Gateway Arch appears in the distance on Jan. 5 in St. Louis. Snow that began in parts of Missouri Saturday night picked up intensity after dawn Sunday with several inches of snow on the ground by midmorning and more on the way. (Jeff Roberson)/Associated Press) #

A woman falls while slipping on ice during freezing rain on Roosevelt Island, a borough of Manhattan, in New York City on Jan. 5. The city was hit on Friday by the first severe winter storm of 2014 and was still in the grip of sub-freezing weather on Sunday morning. The woman got up and walked away from the fall. (Zoran Milich/Reuters) #

The Chicago skyline is seen beyond the arctic sea smoke rising off Lake Michigan in Chicago, Il, on Jan. 6. A blast of Arctic air gripped the mid-section of the United States on Monday, bringing the coldest temperatures in two decades, forcing businesses and schools to close and causing widespread airline delays and hazardous driving conditions. Meteorologists said temperatures were dangerously cold and life-threatening in some places, with 0 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 18 Celsius) recorded in Chicago, St. Louis and Indianapolis. The chill was set to bear down on eastern and southern states as the day wore on. (Jim Young/Reutrs) #

Two people duck into the blowing snow as they leave the U City Loop next to the statue of Chuck Berry on Jan. 5 in St. Louis. Heavy snow combined with strong winds and bitter cold created a dangerous winter mix Sunday over much of Missouri. (J.B. Forbes/St. Louis Post-Dispatch via Associated Press) #

Manatees crowd together at the Three Sisters Springs at the Crystal River National Wildlife Refuge on Jan. 7 near Tampa, Fla. Officials at the Crystal River National Wildlife Refuge instituted an emergency closure of Three Sisters Springs in order to safeguard the approximately 300 manatees that had packed into the canal that leads to the springs as the mammals seek warm water for a refuge from the cold weather. (Chris Zuppa/The Tampa Bay Times via Associated Press) #

A woman pushes her daughter and their groceries through blowing snow in the Kroger parking lot in Green Acres Plaza on State Street in Saginaw Township, Mich., on Jan. 6. Bitter cold air and blowing snow moved into the area Monday. (Jeff Schrier/The Saginaw News via Associated Press) #

Mist rises from Lake Michigan at North Avenue Beach as temperatures dipped well below zero on Jan. 6 in Chicago, Il. Chicago hit a record low of -16 degree Fahrenheit this morning as a polar air mass brought the coldest temperatures in about two decades into the city. (Scott Olson/Getty Images) #

A student looks out the frosted window of a school bus as it moves down 19th Street, on Jan. 7 in Philadelphia. The record-breaking polar air that has made the Midwest shiver over the past few days spread to the East and South on Tuesday, sending the mercury plunging into the single digits and teens from Boston and New York to Atlanta, Birmingham, Nashville and Little Rock, places where many people don't know the first thing about extreme cold. (Michael Wirtz/The Philadelphia Inquirer via Associated Press) #

Leaves are captured in the frozen runoff water along the curb on Wiley Drive in South Roanoke, Va., on Jan. 7. Brutal, life-threatening cold descended over the East and the South, sending the mercury plummeting Tuesday into the single digits and teens. (Stephanie Klein-Davis/The Roanoke Times via Associated Press) #

Commuters brave the frigid temperature as they wait for a bus on Capitol Hill, on Jan. 7 in Washington, DC. A polar vortex that has swept into the east coast bringing with it dangerously cold temperatures not seen in the area in about 20 years. (Mark Wilson/Getty Images) #

Organic farmer Will Muir of Wholesome Living Farm breaks through the ice on a pond so his cows can access drinking water in the midst of bitter cold below-zero temperatures on Jan. 7 in Winchester, Ky. Temperatures in the single digits coupled with below-zero wind chills have prompted the closure of local governments, schools, and businesses throughout the South. (Luke Sharrett/Getty Images) #

Steam rises from downtown buildings as temperature begin to climb above zero for the first time in more than 30 hours on Jan. 7 in Chicago, Il. The cold weather has closed schools, wreaked havoc on public transportation and forced more than 1,500 flights to be cancelled at O'Hare Airport. (Scott Olson/Getty Images) #

Tourists avoid sub-zero temperatures outside by taking in the city views from inside the John Hancock building on Jan. 7 in Chicago, Il. Chicago has spent more than 30 hours with temperatures below zero over the past three days. (Scott Olson/Getty Images) #

A flock of gulls flies against frigid winds of an arctic cold front over the ice of Irondequoit Bay in Irondequoit, N.Y. on Jan. 7. A wind chill warning was issued making it feel like it was 25 degrees below zero or colder for several hours. (Carlos Ortiz/Democrat & Chronicle via Associated Press) #

Travelers get off a Radisson hotel shuttle bus at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago on Jan. 5. Illinois residents are digging out of more snow and preparing for bitterly cold temperatures. Sunday night temperatures are predicted to drop drastically, to about minus 20 degrees. (Nam Y. Huh/Associated Press) #

With temperatures at about 22 below zero with a -50 windchill, it was hard to find the beauty in the brutal weather in Bismarck, N.D., on Jan. 5. Sundogs, a ring of light visible around the sun or moon when light is refracted through ice crystals in the atmosphere, are quite beautiful along Highway 83 north of Bismark ND. (Brian Peterson/The Star Tribune via Associated Press) #

Two people help a stranded motorist up snow-covered exit ramp on I-44 Jan. 5 in St. Louis. Snow that began in parts of Missouri Saturday night picked up intensity after dawn Sunday with several inches of snow on the ground by midmorning and more on the way. (Jeff Roberson/Associated Press) #

Lucas Hunter from Pittsburgh, walks to his hotel along Camp Road in Hamburg, N.Y. after a stretch of the New York State thruway was closed down due to high winds on Jan. 7. (Harry Scull Jr./The Buffalo News via Associated Press) #

A woman walks through a gust of blowing snow in frigid cold temperatures though downtown Chicago, Il, on Jan. 6. A blast of Arctic air gripped the mid-section of the United States on Monday, bringing the coldest temperatures in two decades. Meteorologists said temperatures were dangerously cold and life-threatening in some places, with 0 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 18 Celsius) recorded in Chicago, St. Louis and Indianapolis. (Jim Young/Reuters) #

James Diers attempts to jump start his car in Minneapolis on Jan. 7. A deadly blast of Arctic air that shattered decades-old records as it gripped the middle United States moved eastward on Tuesday, canceling thousands of flights, paralyzing road travel, and closing schools and businesses. Minneapolis public schools were to be closed for a second day on Tuesday "due to extremely cold temperatures," after Gov. Mark Dayton declared a state of emergency on Monday. (Eric Miller/Reuters) #

A man uses a power auger to drill a hole in the ice for fishing in Lake Calhoun, Minneapolis on Jan. 7. The National Weather Service (NWS) said Tuesday's high is expected to be near zero. A deadly blast of arctic air shattered decades-old temperature records as it enveloped the eastern United States on Tuesday, snarling air, road and rail travel, driving energy prices higher and overwhelming shelters for homeless people. At least eight deaths have been reported across the country because of the polar air mass sweeping over North America during the past few days. Authorities have put about half of the United States under a wind chill warning or cold weather advisory. (Eric Miller/Reuters) #

Eli Esch, 13, right, and his dad Tom enjoy the snow fort and igloo they built over the last few weeks on Jan. 6 in Minneapolis. It is decked out with Christmas lights and the two spent the night in it last week. Eli was enjoying his day off school due to the cold but was relatively warm in the igloo. (Glen Stubbe/The Star Tribune via Associated Press) #

Prince, who is homeless, sits on a subway grate to keep warm on a frigid day on Jan. 7 in New York City. A "polar vortex" carrying Arctic air and wind gusts of up to 50 mph has engulfed New York City and much of the Northeast making for life threatening weather conditions. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images) #

A tugboat makes its way up the icy waters of the Mississippi River on Jan. 7 in St. Louis. Tuesday was the worst cold snap in nearly two decades for Missouri. (Laurie Skrivan/St. Louis Post-Dispatch via Associated Press) #

Icicles hang from a bumper of a vehicle in Fort Walton Beach, Fla., on Jan. 7. Like much of the nation, the Florida panhandle experienced freezing temperatures, with overnight lows Monday dipping to around around 18 degrees. (Devon Ravine/Northwest Florida Daily via Associated Press) #